Holder “Exasperated” By St. Louis County Grand Jury Leaks On Ferguson Case

By |October 24, 2014

Attorney General Eric Holder is “exasperated” with leaks emerging from the grand jury involved in investigating the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, the Washington Post reports. Holder privately referred to the leaks as a “selective flow of information,” and characterized them as “inappropriate and troubling.” The leaked information all appeared to support the case of Darren Wilson, the officer who shot the unarmed Brown. Various parts of the leaked narrative have appeared in the New York Times, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Washington Post.

Critics have said the information appeared to be an effort to prepare a volatile community for the possibility that Wilson might not be indicted. Former St. Louis County police chief Tim Fitch said there can be benefits to leaks. “It's not a surprise to people” when a decision is announced, he said. Patricia Bynes, Democratic committeewoman of Ferguson Township, said such a strategy might backfire. “For weeks people have been told: Just let the system play out, there is a legal process in place,” said Bynes. “And then you have this happen. This is just spitting in the face of all of that. This has done nothing but radicalize people who thought that the justice system was not going to work for a black person in America.” Charlie Dooley, St. Louis County executive, renewed a call for a special prosecutor because “greater oversight is needed.”

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